The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. W.W. Grainger (GWW) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.
W.W. Grainger is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 218 different companies and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. W.W. Grainger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWW's full-year earnings has moved 8.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, GWW has moved about 22.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 4%. This means that W.W. Grainger is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Hubbell (HUBB). The stock is up 4.1% year-to-date.
For Hubbell, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, W.W. Grainger is a member of the Industrial Services industry, which includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 16.6% so far this year, so GWW is performing better in this area.
Hubbell, however, belongs to the Manufacturing - Electrical Utilities industry. Currently, this 1-stock industry is ranked #4. The industry has moved +4.6% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to W.W. Grainger and Hubbell as they could maintain their solid performance.
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